Holistic & Conventional Care Are Better Together

As a holistic practitioner, I want to be very clear with my stance on conventional medicine. And that is, conventional medicine is highly valuable and at times critically essential. Yet it’s also true that conventional healthcare has its shortcomings. Fortunately, these can be mitigated.

Through my conversations with others, I’ve also noticed that sometimes we have this misconception that the word, “holistic” is synonymous with the word, “alternative.” The word, “alternative” implies that it replaces, or acts as a substitute, for other forms of care. While I cannot speak on behalf of other holistic professionals out there, I can say clearly and definitively for Ignite Wellness, this is not the case. I don’t believe in replacing appropriate medical advice with holistic advice; I believe they work together.

Holistic modalities complement and supplement conventional medicine. Neither is meant to stand alone – just as we are not made to face this world alone. It’s through relationships and connections that make us stronger and give us fuller experience. The same goes for our treatment and wellness plans.

A holistic approach considers the whole-person, the big-picture context, and the interconnectedness of a variety of dimensions and factors. By contrast, a conventional medicine approach is reductive. It simplifies. It’s focused and precise to treat specific symptoms, individual parts of the body, or disease. Neither is optimal alone, but when we put the two together, we really have a lot more to work with, and in turn, a greater sense of control and empowerment in our wellness journey.

Depending on our life context and the type of conventional treatment we receive, we can assess where it helps and where it falls short. We complement with holistic therapies, personal change, and lifestyle shifts to both make up for limitations and add to its efficacy.

If we decide to commit to something and take action, let’s make it fully worthwhile and give ourselves the best chances for our desired outcome, whether it’s to feel less pain, sleep better, wake up with more energy, experience remission, or thrive with illness. We cultivate curiosity and play along the way so we can find moments of joy, fun, and gratitude in the process.

Yes, joy and peace are still possible in times of physical, mental, or emotional pain. They’re in you, waiting to be accessed and expressed. Sometimes they're a little more difficult to access, and that's where other forms of support and guidance come in.

I know that illness, particularly chronic or systemic health issues, can be frustrating to say the least. All the discomfort, pain, and roller coaster of emotions are completely valid. At the same time, disease can be enlightening. A form of sacred communication from within, expressing unmet needs and deep desires. A vehicle for healing, growth, and transformation. All of this can be true at once. And in case you need reminding, you are capable of holding all truths that arise. Even the ones that seem at odds with each other. This speaks to the integrative wellness process, of bringing all of you into alignment, with no parts left behind. Now, let’s take a look at where conventional medicine excels and falls short.

Where conventional medicine excels:

1. Infectious diseases: addressed through antibiotics, vaccines, and medications
2. Diagnostics: labs, imaging, and other such tools to assess or diagnosis health issues
3. Acute, emergent, and/or localized health issues: injuries or issues that respond well to immediate and targeted intervention; urgent and emergency situations
4. Cancers: the leading and primary form of treatment (although as we know, efficacy varies)
5. Symptom management: through the use of pharmaceuticals
6. Preventative care: vaccinations and screenings to prevent illness and disease
7. Evidence-based approach: scientific research and trials to ensure safety and efficacy

Where conventional medicine falls short:

1. Chronic diseases: conditions that last a year or more and require ongoing medical attention and/or limit the activities of daily living. Examples: heart disease, diabetes type 1, arthritis, cancer
2. Invisible illnesses: illnesses that can’t be readily visible by others, but impacts the affected person. Examples: anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue
3. Systemic health issues: those that affect multiple body systems, organs, or tissues, and thus are not localized to one area of the body. Examples: cystic fibrosis, AIDS, metabolic syndrome
4. Autoimmune diseases: many autoimmune diseases fall into all 3 categories above. Examples: multiple sclerosis, lupus, Graves disease
5. Psychosomatic health issues: where psychological symptoms such as stress, significantly make conditions worse. Examples: Fibromyalgia, eczema, sleep disorders
6. Complex health issues: Where clients that have more than one health issue that fall under multiple categories. E.g. could be a localized issue + a systemic health issue, more than one autoimmune diseases (as there’s a tendency for them to come in pairs), a physical injury + a mental health issue etc.
7. Addressing the mental, emotional, spiritual effects that health conditions – whether acute, systemic, or chronic – and the entire healthcare journey can have on the person
8. Addressing the root cause of health issues – many conventional treatments manage or suppress symptoms
9. And as I mentioned last week, anything that requires us to look beyond the data, where despite what the doctor tells you and what the data shows, you know things aren’t quite right

Why and how conventional medicine falls short:

1. Reductionist approach – many of these issues affect the whole body or multiple body systems that would require cross-specialty collaboration
2. Limited time and resources + high patient load – they’re unable to spend the time a holistic practitioner could to fully discuss your context and personalize care
3. Research and clinical trials focus on specific or acute health issues, or a specific population – not suited for complex or systemic health issues where it’s important to look at the interaction of different systems and solutions. Individuals are complex and nuanced, and not everything can be captured in the research. Efficacy can vary. 
4. Over-reliance on medication – suppresses the symptoms, but doesn’t adequately address the root cause or treat the condition(s) from other angles
5. Need for personal change and lifestyle changes – with many health issues, taking medicine, doing the treatment or surgery are not enough. It requires us to pause and assess ourselves and our life context.

When we look at where, why, and how conventional medicine falls short, we see exactly where we have the most to gain when we supplement traditional healthcare with holistic therapies.

The holistic modalities I work with help us connect the dots and see the big picture. It is particularly effective for anyone living with:

1. Chronic conditions
2. Invisible illnesses
3. Autoimmune diseases
4. Systemic health issues
5. Complex health issues

AND anyone who feels stuck or unfulfilled. You might not have a health issue per se, but you don't feel well either, and want to make a change.

Let's:

1. Take a zoom in and zoom out approach to look at the parts and the whole picture
2. Personalize and contextualize your challenges 
3. Integrates the physical with the mental, emotional, and spiritual, and thus – mind, body, breath, and energy – to help you see beyond the data 
4. Feel safe, seen, heard, and validated
5. Stay centered in upheaval – e.g. while waiting for diagnosis, treatment, or results

How do I know so deeply and write with such confidence about this? I’ve experienced this for myself. Here are how my health issues fit with what I just described above:

• Anxiety and PTSD – these are mental health issues that I was good at hiding, but had a huge impact on my daily life for years. I had to spend so much energy to pull myself together just to function daily. It was exhausting. Mental health issues are often invisible to others for a variety of reasons. Mine was definitely centered around shame and hyper-independence. I used a wide range of approaches that helped, and I’m lucky that they no longer rule my life.
• Urological diverticulum – this is a rare urological condition. Its incidence is 17.9 per 1,000,000 (less than 0.02%) per year. I was initially misdiagnosed when it was discovered, but fortunately was referred to a urologist familiar with it. Based on my situation, surgery was a must. The condition came back 2 years later, and I have theories as to why, but won't get into for this post. It’s invisible to others because of its location, but it's definitely visible. It’s become a chronic condition that I can live with peacefully – I know how to take care of it. I may have another surgery, but I’m very fortunate that it’s my choice, and not critically necessary like in the past.
• Infertility – this is defined by the failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of unprotected sexual intercourse. This was in actuality 5 years for me, about 3.5 of which I spent half in denial, half in feeling unworthy of becoming a parent. Then I spent a full year doing failed IVF procedures and experienced a miscarriage as well. My doctor couldn’t help me see beyond the data. I was truly physically, mentally, and emotionally spent at this point. The final half year, I finally included my intuition in my decision-making, did things on my terms, added holistic approaches, committed to big lifestyle changes, and conceived naturally.
• Graves Disease – An autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. This is a chronic disease that has a systemic impact. Unless it's flaring, the disease is also not visible to others. The symptoms affect the entire body, and they were extremely disruptive at their worst. I get bloodwork and scans regularly. I combine western medicine, holistic therapies, and nutrition. It’s precisely because my thyroid levels so quickly came back into balance, that my nutritionist invited me to work with her clients. 

In every single one of these situations, it’s combining holistic with conventional care that has brought me peace, acceptance, control, accelerated my recovery, and helped me handle the mental and emotional turbulence that comes with things such as: waiting for a diagnosis, seeing beyond the data, preparing for surgery, recovering from treatment, and healing (physically and psychologically).

The variety of therapies and techniques I apply not only has helped me with my physical, mental, and emotional health issues, but life in general. I consider yoga therapy, integrative hypnosis, and energy healing as the 3 main pillars of my work, but I also draw from so much more. I’ll get into those aspects another time.

Let's all be gently reminded that we truly do not know what someone could be going through. What someone looks like on the outside can tell an entirely different story from how they're feeling on in the inside. Everyday there are people barely holding it together, yet braving the world with smiles on their faces. Experiencing these health struggles over the years has humbled and grounded me. It's helped me love and appreciate the simple things I used to take for granted. It's also made me want to engage more in life rather than pull away. I've gained empathy and compassion for myself and for others.

Healing, growing, and thriving are on-going and non-linear. Life also continues, along with all of its ups and downs. What’s different is that the qualities of healing, growing, and thriving all coexist within me, and that sense of inner alignment is absolutely priceless. 

I would love for you to experience this sense of flow, the sweetness of balancing effort and ease, if wellness from within is what you’re after.

Let’s add both all of YOU and all of me into your wellness equation. Between the two of us, I can help you get from Point A to Point B, with a sense of wellness within.